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Stygia (Hyboria)
Stygian royalty and certain lines of ancient nobility are typically fair-skinned. The rest of the nobility and the influential middle class are typically dusky-skinned and hawk-faced. The lower classes and the slaves typically have mixed ancestry, resulting from mating among Stygians themselves, Kushites, Shemites, and Hyborians. Stygia is underpopulated due to its climatic conditions. The only fertile lands are those surrounding River Styx (later known as the Nile), the rest of Stygia is an arid desert. Rumors of the Hyborian Age believe that this was a side-effect of the Stygians practice of dark magic. The sizeable number of Stygian magic users and healers require a constant productions of medicinal drugs, and magical paraphernalia. Making these major industries for the country. Stygian exports silks, and serves as an important stop in trade networks involving animal hides, artwork, woven carpets, ivory, jade, pearls, and slaves. The coastal city of Khemi serves as its main harbour and religious center. It lacks the cosmopolitan culture of other major ports of the Hyborian world, mainly due to the restrictions imposen on foreign visits. Only foreign ambassadors and licensed traders are allowed within the city. Foreign scholars and sorcerers tend to migrate to more hospitable Stygian cities. The city of Luxur serves as the royal seat of power and center of administratioon. It is strategically situated among major trade routes. Kheshata, the famed City of Magicians, serves as another seat of power. Stygia maintains a moderately-sized war fleet and a much larger land army. While this army has a well-desderved reputation for ruthlessness and discipline, it is hindered by the goverment's reluctance to upgrade their weaponry. Adhering to ancient tradition, they use the same type of armor and weaponry which their predecessors used centuries before. Weapons that are considerably outdated in comparison to the Hyborian equipment. Stygia is relatively secure from foreign invasion. The Eastern Desert and the steppes keep them safe from would-be eastern invaders, while their western border is the Western Sea. The Black Kingdoms and Shem serve as buffer zones, separating them from more agressive potential opponents. But the Stygian government remains insecure and near-paranoid in its fears of foreign invasion. Alternate Realities Earth-83600 In a shadowy shop of Stygia's main bazar, Thor and Conan were told that Mjolnir, the mystic hammer made of wondrous Uru metal, could have been found by Thoth-Amon in the city of magicians . | PointsOfInterest = * Bakhr River * City of Magicians * Gazal * Luxur * Sukhmet * Styx River | Residents = Amalric (Earth-616) Amalric the Aquilonian was part with Conan of a mercenary army that invaded Stygia and got annihilated by treachery. They'd become separated, but Conan spied him, days later, with a beatiful girl named Lissa, chased across the nighted desert by seven fiery-eyed, skull-faced horsemen, who vanished as soon as the Cimmerian rushed to them. Amalric took Lissa back to her birthplace, Gazal, only to save her again from Ollam-Onga, the demon of the red tower. Chased again by the skull-riders, they reached Tombalku, where Amalric eventually slew a local wizard named Askia. As they encountered an approaching caravan outside the city gates, they persuaded the traders to bypass Tombalku's civil war, and joined the group . Lissa (Earth-616) Lissa was a beautiful girl, rescued by Amalric the Aquilonian from slavers. She was then led back by Amalric to her birthplace, Gazal, although all that she knew about it was nine hundred years out of date. After Lissa was saved again from Ollam-Onga, the demon of the red tower, she and Amalric fled the city immediately. Chased again by the skull-riders, the two lovers reached Tombalku, where Amalric eventually slew a local wizard named Askia. As they encountered an approaching caravan outside the city gates, they persuaded the traders to bypass Tombalku's civil war, and joined the group As they encountered an approaching caravan outside the city gates, they persuaded the traders to bypass Tombalku's civil war, and joined the group . Nekht Semerkeht (Earth-616) Expelled from City of Sorcerers, the evil magician Nehkt Semerkeht enslaved a peaceful tribe and forced them to build a pyramid city, which he ruled like a tyrant, sacrifing his best meats to some flying monsters called the feeders from the sky. Confronted by Conan and badly wounded, he retreated, letting his pyramid temple crumble into dust . Former Residents Askia (Earth-616) Askia was a local wizard who summoned a flying lizard from Gazal's red tower. As Conan killed the creature, Tombalku's blacks rose against the half-Shemite Aphaki caste, and Askia was eventually slain by Amalric the Aquilonian . Ixtlaca (Earth-616) Once princess of the tribe conquered by Nehkt Semerkeht, Ixtlaca then became a slave of the usurper. Conan agreed to help her escape and defeated Nehk Semerkeht, but Ixtlaca, wishing to rescue the capture Lataoc, eventually died under the crumbling pyramid . Lataoc (Earth-616) Lataoc was a young apprentice priest who loved Ixtlaca and helped her getting Conan inside the pyramid. He was quickly captured by the evil wizard and, when Nekht Semerkeht was defeated, died under the crumbling pyramid . | Notes = Robert E. Howard loosely-based Stygia on Ancient Egypt. | Trivia = | Links = }} Category:Countries Category:Fictional Countries Category:Hyboria